Worldwide
by Kristynite
Summary: "How could she have fallen for Tori Vega? She was everything Jade hated. Spoiled. Bubbly. Happy. Somewhere along the line, though, blind rage and resentment had become actual, honest-to-goodness affection and Jade found herself tormenting Tori in different ways and for different reasons." Loosely based on Big Time Rush's 'Worldwide.' Jori. Rated T for now. M for later.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a bad day for Jade West.

Actually, it had been one of the worst days of Jade's young life. And as she stormed out the front doors of Hollywood Arts High School, she swore to herself that she'd never go back.

No. This time, the universe had gone too far.

When a spoiled rich kid in a Mercedes sped by her that morning, splashing her legs with mud and ruining her new white pants, she was angry. When she was late to math class because she couldn't get her gym locker open, prompting an embarrassing in-front-of-the-whole-class tirade from her teacher, she was pissed off. When Robbie and Andre fought for the last turkey sandwich at lunch and knocked into her, causing her drop her Pear Phone and shatter the screen, she was furious. But when Sikowitz gave her newest play an 'F' because it 'lacked originality and passion,' she hit the roof.

In an explosion of fury that shocked the entire class (and that was saying something considering Jade's reputation and usual, natural anger), Jade went off on her teacher, enlisting the help of every obscenity she'd ever learned since the fifth grade. She screamed. She flipped two chairs. When Beck tried to calm her down, she nearly threw him to the floor

And, because that was the way things went when you called your teacher a talentless basket of dicks, Jade found herself in detention until three-thirty. She hardly even minded. With the way her day had gone, she was almost glad that she was confined to the small, windowless classroom that was used for after-school punishment. At least she wouldn't be able to get into any more trouble. Hey, you couldn't key your basket-of-dicks teacher's car if you were copying Shakespeare passages from a literature textbook.

She breathed a very small sigh of relief when she finally stepped outside. It was a short-lived feeling, one that was soon replaced by unbridled rage as she neared her car.

She knew she wasn't the nicest person in the world. She was pushy and rebellious, bossy and foul-mouthed, sometimes even malicious. But she didn't think that she deserved all the crap she'd endured that day. No one did. Hell, not even that creepy little dork Sinjin deserved it.

But by the time Jade reached the first red light outside of Hollywood Arts, she was feeling better. Just putting distance between her and that hellhole was proving beneficial. She was regretting telling Sikowitz that it would be a cold day in hell when she stepped back into his classroom, especially because she knew damn well she couldn't make good on that promise. But it was Thursday and the black-and-green haired rebel was pretty much banking on skipping school the next day and giving herself a three-day weekend. If she was lucky, maybe Cat would upload something stupid to TheSlap and everyone would forget all about her little outburst.

A girl could dream, right?

On a whim, Jade pulled over, steering her beat-up old car to the shoulder. Letting her head fall back, she sighed, trying to release all of her demons in one heavy breath. Her shoulders slumped, her posture completely giving up on the day.

Was there anything in the world that could lift her spirits?

Anything at all?

With a lick of her lips as instinctual as a second-nature blink of her eyes, Jade realized that there was. There _was_ something.

Well, some_one_.

Someone with dark hair and dark eyes. Someone with a loud personality and an even louder singing voice. Someone with skin too tan and too smooth for anyone's good. Someone with long legs, long hair and a flat stomach that was just begging to be kissed.

Someone named Tori Vega.

Suddenly, Jade found herself digging around her purse for her busted Pear Phone. In a small stroke of luck, the phone itself still functioned in spite of its irreparably damaged screen. And working diligently not to slice her fingertips, Jade sent a text Tori's way.

Just two words.

_'__Home alone?'_

Tori's response was as quick as it was simple.

_'__Until five. Coming over?'_

Jade glanced at the clock. 2:45.

Tossing her phone back in her purse and ignoring Tori's question, she turned the car around and sped off in the opposite direction. She knew how to get there. Left on Lincoln. Right on Woodruff. Two miles down Route 70. Quick right just after the drugstore and the Vega house came into view.

It was a nice house, all white stone and high ceilings. Sure, the Wests had more money than the Vegas. And as it was, Jade's house was a lot bigger than Tori's. A lot newer, too. But Jade preferred Tori's house to her own – and it only had a little bit to do with what awaited her beyond the front door.

The Vegas were nice people. David and Holly loved their kids. They took care of them, had dinner together, had movie nights, went on family vacations. She was sure that they took care of Trina and Tori when they were sick, took photos for Christmas cards, even went to school plays, though Jade seriously doubted that Trina had any more talent back then than she did now.

It was the type of family that she'd always wanted. And truth be told, she was a little bit jealous. Fuck. She was _a lot_ jealous. And that was a big reason why she'd tortured Tori when they'd first met. Here was this perfect girl with the perfect smile and the perfect voice and the perfect family. She saw Holly and David in the crowd, cheering during Tori's solos. Then she'd look for her own loving parents, completely unsurprised when she was greeted with the two empty auditorium seats that had followed her and haunted her throughout her entire childhood.

Jade was willing to admit that it was petty and immature to take out her mommy _and_ daddy issues out on Tori Vega but God, had it been fun. For a while, making Tori miserable was the only thing that made Jade happy. But things had changed. Jade had grown up, seen the error of her ways and laid off – but just a little. Besides, she'd realized long ago that another reason why she'd been on Tori's case so much was because she liked her.

Yes, Jade was basically a nine-year-old boy, pulling the braid of a girl he had a crush on. It was embarrassing and childish but it was what it was. She'd always had trouble expressing her feelings, especially ones that confused her. Jade had always known that she was into girls. That was a non-issue. But being into this _particular_ girl had thrown her for a loop.

How could she have fallen for Tori Vega? She was everything Jade hated. Spoiled. Bubbly. Happy.

Somewhere along the line, though, blind rage and resentment had become actual, honest-to-goodness affection and Jade found herself tormenting Tori in different ways and for different reasons.

It had been a confusing, unpredictable couple of months but when Jade drunkenly confessed her love for Tori during the after-party for Beck's new play, things finally started to make sense – for both of them. Tori began to understand why Jade put her through hell and Jade finally understood why she put _herself_ through hell.

And now, they were dating.

Well… sort of.

That's what they called it. They still bickered and fought in front of their friends to keep up appearances. They weren't quite ready to confess what was going on between them, though Tori had a creeping suspicion that Cat had known about her crush on Jade for a long, long time. That was the redhead's way, though. She was a lot smarter than she let on and she knew the dirt on everyone. For as bouncy and oblivious as she appeared, that girl was a wallflower. She just sat back and took it all in.

Plus, Tori didn't exactly have a poker face. She sucked at lying. She didn't know how to keep things to herself. She was pretty sure the others had seen her looking down Jade's shirt way before Jade's drunken declaration. What could she say? She was only human. And Jade was the hottest girl at Hollywood Arts. Even if she made Tori _miserable _(which she did), Tori couldn't help what she felt.

And she knew her friends wouldn't get it. They wouldn't understand how she'd fallen for the she-devil. Especially Andre. She considered that boy her best friend but she knew he just wouldn't be able to grasp how she could have real romantic feelings for Jade. Andre seemed to be the only one in the group who took Jade's remarks seriously. And every now and then, he'd cause a tiff by sticking up for Tori and spitting some cruel words Jade's way. She'd act offended, obliterate him with her own sharp tongue, but tell Tori later that she thought it was sweet the way he defended her. He really cared about her. And that made Jade respect him.

And that was the current state of Jade and Tori's confusing, not-relationship relationship. They were dating. Secretly. Jade snuck into Tori's room via the oak tree outside her bedroom window. Tori pretended she was going to work on a project at a friend's when really she was driving to Jade's. They found reasons to spend time together, came up with elaborate lies to cover their tracks and avoided high-risk situations (except for the one time that Jade convinced Tori to skip class and spend fifth period in the janitor's closet).

They'd been together, on the down-low, for a few months. And both girls were more than okay with the somewhat unconventional arrangement. Secretly, though, and way deep down, they both wished they could take the next step, just as soon as they figured out what the hell that next step would be and how they could get there.

And that was why Jade was speeding down Route 70, smiling and moving to turn up the radio. Some stupid, catchy pop song. Tori loved it. That was right in Tori's wheelhouse. She was the budding popstar. It wasn't really Jade's thing. She was the rocker. She had the soul. They were both vocalists, completely driven and focused on their music. But they were worlds apart. Tori wanted to be Katy Perry. Jade wasn't sure _who_ she wanted to be but she knew whoever it was, they weren't anywhere to be found on Tori's iPod.

Good thing their bond transcended their individual musical tastes.

That wasn't to say that music played no part in their relationship. It did. They played together. Sang together. Wrote together. Sat in Jade's room and listened to albums on vinyl. Drove around in Tori's car and listened to the radio. They were artists. Even during their downtime, it was hard to separate themselves from the music.

But jam sessions were hardly the only thing that went on when Jade West and Tori Vega found themselves alone. And with renewed energy, Jade slammed the door to her car and made her way hastily from the street, up Tori's driveway and to the front step.

She barely registered one knock before it flew open.

"What took you so long?"

Jade growled. Tori wore tight black jeans a blue tank top that didn't quite reach the waistband of her pants. What else was new? And since Jade didn't feel Tori's inquiry deserved a response, she didn't provide one. Not verbally, at least. In a millisecond, her lips were too busy to speak, too busy stealing Tori's breath.

"Can I just say," Tori began after one of Jade's combat boots had kicked the front door shut and her strong hands had thrown her against it, "that your rampage in Sikowitz's today was the best thing I've seen in my life."

Jade smirked, her lips taking a split-second break from claiming Tori's neck to smile.

"Yeah?" she questioned absentmindedly.

"He said your play lacked originality," Tori reminded her. "And I think 'basket-of-dicks' was a fitting rebuttal."

"Mhmm," Jade sighed. "_That_ was an insult I thought was bursting with originality." While Tori laughed, Jade refocused her attention to what she'd been doing. In one smooth motion, Jade tucked her fingers beneath the hem of Tori's tank top and tossed it to the floor. Tori opened her mouth, about to utter some dry, witty comment but Jade let her. "In the way," she muttered, linking her fingers with the belt loops on Tori's jeans. She pulled her from the door, only to push her towards the couch.

In the few seconds it took for Tori to get comfortable, Jade discarded her jacket and the black t-shirt she'd worn to school.

"Not a moment to spare, huh?" Tori remarked, smirking. She was already breathless and, thanks to the flush on her cheeks and chest, Jade could see the other girl's lust as clear as day. As always, Tori Vega was an open book.

"It's been a long day," muttered Jade, moving to straddle Tori's lap.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She did not. And so she shut her girlfriend up with a kiss that did nothing to help the blushing of her skin. As Tori had learned, Jade's tongue was good for a lot more than spitting insults and cutting classmates down to size. Many a class period was spent remembering just how talented Jade was with her mouth – and those memories had _nothing_ to do with singing. Truth was, Jade had a lot more experience with girls than Tori did. And every time they were alone, every time Jade's fingers slid beneath the fabric of her panties, Tori Vega was reminded just how skilled her once-nemesis, now-lover was.

A bite to her collarbone brought Tori out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"So, no, then?" Tori commented, already feeling a little dizzy.

"Stop being such a smartass," Jade said, fumbling with the zipper on Tori's jeans. She looked up, blue eyes meeting brown, both dark with the heat of the moment. "And stop talking so much."

"Yes ma'am," Tori sighed, her breath hitching as her jeans were thrown somewhere towards the kitchen. Jade wasn't in the mood to talk. She wasn't in the mood to play games. She was still angry. Frustrated. Fed up. She was in the mood to _fuck_. She knew Tori was, too. But Tori was talkative. She was sarcastic. She always made little comments, no matter what the situation. She didn't have an off-switch and she didn't have a filter. It was something Jade loved about her but at that moment, it was merely interfering with her goal, and that was to have Tori Vega unclothed and coming.

The sooner the better.

With Jade, one bad day tended to snowball. She was a dark person, a lot darker than her counterpart who was still kissing her, Tori's hands tangled in Jade's hair. Most of the time, Jade could put her issues and her past behind her. But days like these had a tendency of bring up demons. And once they were awake, it was hard to get them back to sleep.

"Sit up," Jade demanded. Only two small pieces of clothing separated her from Tori and she was finding it difficult to remove one with her back against the couch. Tori obeyed, clawing at Jade's skirt as she felt her fairly expensive bra being torn from her chest and tossed to the floor.

"Hey," she interjected. "Careful with that. That wasn't cheap."

"I'll buy you a new one," Jade mumbled, returning her lips to Tori's.

She was the perfect distraction, though Jade scolded herself for that train of thought. Calling Tori a 'distraction' seemed to cheapen the very real feelings that she had for her. She was a lot more than just a Band-Aid fix for a bad day and she was worth a lot more than stress relief. But at that moment, at that very second on the couch in the middle of the Vegas' living room, that was what Jade needed. And that was what Tori could provide.

She kissed along Tori's jawline, down to her neck and collarbone. It wasn't teasing, at least not this time. Jade was taking her time only because she needed a moment to get out of her own head. Her demons were awake, alright. They were awake and they were pissed. And even with the girl of her dreams beneath her, tugging at her hair and panting in her ear, she couldn't them to shut up.

So she tried harder. She focused all of her attention on Tori, forcing herself to block out any feeling other than need. Her lips went to work, covering every inch of Tori's upper body in kisses before going in for the kill. Tori wasn't very busty, especially compared to Jade whose reputation around Hollywood was the mean goth with the big boobs. But what she lacked in size, she more than made up for in sensitivity, something Jade discovered early on and continued to use to her own advantage.

With her lips latched greedily onto one nipple and her right hand teasing the other, Jade used every ounce of strength to focus on Tori and the noises she was making. Besides, the breathy moans of Tori Vega were a lot better a soundtrack than the angry self-loathing that seemed to be pulsating deep within her soul.

Tori's back arched against her touch. Good, thought Jade. That was a good thing. Tori was getting worked up and fast. Jade smirked arrogantly. At least there was one thing she was consistently great at, one thing that even she couldn't fuck up. And as long as she could still get Tori off, there was one thing that kept her anchored to an okay place.

Still, it seemed that, those days, the rope that held her to that anchor was fraying. She had to be good for more than just sex, right? She had other talents beyond going down on her girlfriend. She had to. Singing was one. Playwriting, apparently, was something else. Lacked originality? Sikowitz's voice joined the others in her head, mocking her play, tearing her down in front of the entire class, in front of the peers that respected and (in a lot of cases) feared her. Okay, so she wasn't a model student. And she'd been a straight-up bitch to Sikowitz in the past. But she was still a _student_, a young mind that needed molding. How could he just knock her down like that? After she'd worked so hard on writing it.

Without meaning to, she intensified her actions, her hands and tongue becoming rougher in their movements. How dare he criticize her work that harshly? What had Sikowitz done that was so great? He taught a bunch of kids how to banter about chocolate milk and use subtext while doing it. Wow, what a great talent he must have been.

Soon, other, more familiar voices drowned out the eccentric tone of Erwin Sikotwiz. Her mother telling her that she needed to show some respect and accept her creative limitations. Her father ranting to her about how acting and singing would never pay the bills, and even if it did, it was a waste of time and energy. She needed to use her intellect. She needed to use her mind and her ambition to bring in big bucks, just like her parents had. Otherwise, she was a waste. She'd never be like them, never be like her sister, never be like–

"Fuck!"

Jade blinked and she was back on planet earth. In her haze of anger and contempt, she had, without realizing or meaning to, taken her frustrations out on Tori. Rather than the torturous kisses she _thought_ she'd been giving, she realized quickly that she'd actually delivered a pretty good bite. It wasn't until Tori had cursed that Jade knew she'd had her nipple between her teeth.

"Oh, fuck," Jade said, immediately using the tip of her tongue to soothe the skin she'd unintentionally hurt. Tori wasn't into the rougher stuff. Jade knew that. Fuck. She'd gotten so caught up in her own thoughts that she'd forgotten what she was doing and actually bitten her. "I'm sorry, I was–"

Tori didn't give her a chance to explain. She pulled Jade up to her by her hair, stealing a hard kiss without any warning. When it was over, her eyes burned into Jade's.

"Do it again," she said. It wasn't a question. It was an order.

Jade couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips.

"Yes ma'am," she said, swallowing hard as she brought her mouth back to Tori's chest.

She wasn't sure what it was, maybe Tori's tone or the adrenaline that had come from being just a little too rough, but the drama unfolding inside of her mind just stopped. Just like that, like she'd flipped a switch. She was good again. She was back on the ground.

Screw Sikowitz.

Screw her parents.

She was okay. And she only had Tori to thank for that.

For now, the rope that kept Jade grounded held strong, tethering her to reality, and to Tori. Whatever happened next, she would deal with. _They_ would deal with. Together. Anchored, and together.


	2. Chapter 2

"Have you seen my songbook?"

Tori smirked, blinking lazily until the sleep was gone from her eyes.

"You know, a simple 'good morning' would be such a nice a surprise."

Jade exhaled, watching the cigarette smoke billow up towards the blue, morning sky. A smile tugged at her lips.

"Good morning, Tori," she said sweetly. "Did you sleep well?"

"That's more like it," said Tori, rolling onto her side to check the time. 6:35 – five minutes before she normally got up for school. Jade knew her routine and the realization gave Tori the tiniest of thrills. "But to answer your question, Jade, no, I have not seen your songbook. Did you lose it?"

Though she knew her girlfriend couldn't see her, Jade shrugged.

"I really hope not," she said, blowing another puff of smoke off the balcony.

Tori sat up, ignoring the rush of early-morning dizziness that charged towards her head. She listened carefully to the noises of her house. The shower was running. Probably Trina, using all the hot water. She heard someone clattering in the kitchen. Had to be her mother. Her dad had worked the night shift and she wasn't even sure if he was home yet.

Tori was, by nature, a morning person. She was usually happy in the AM hours. She went to bed early, got up early, ate breakfast, listened to the birds chirping. But at that moment, Tori was in an even better mood than usual. Maybe it was because it was Friday. Maybe she'd just gotten a good night's sleep. Whatever it was, she found herself smiling.

And she was lost in the haze of her own happiness until she heard a third exhale.

"Jade Elizabeth West," said Tori. "Are you on the roof smoking again?"

With a laugh so soft that it rivaled the smoke leaving her lips, Jade ground the butt of her cigarette into the ledge.

"I might be," she said. "Are you _sure_ I didn't leave it in your room or in your car?"

Tori's dark eyes darted to the two places Jade tended to leave her things; her desk and the corner by the door. Both were free of Jade's possessions and so Tori replied in the negative.

"Shit," said Jade, silently wishing that she'd brought the whole pack up to the roof rather than just one cigarette. From the roof of the Wests' McMansion, Jade could see dozens of restaurants and other businesses. She could see Hollywood Arts. She could even see the Hollywood sign. But despite the great view, there were only two things in the world she really wanted to see. One was on the other end of the phone. And the other was a ratty, hardcover notebook that she really needed back. "I really hope I didn't lose it."

"You'll find it," Tori said. She was always optimistic, something Jade loved and hated about her. There was a pause. Tori knew Jade was deep in thought, no doubt freaking out over losing something so important to her. And Tori used that break in conversation to move from her bed to her closet, switching the call to speaker phone so that she could get dressed.

"What if I don't?" Jade sighed, twirling a piece of blue hair around her finger.

"You will," said Tori. She stripped off her tank top and tossed it in the hamper, trying diligently to decide between a cute new t-shirt and an old black blouse she loved. "And because you will, you don't have to worry."

"Am I on speaker?"

"Yes." Black blouse. Definitely. "I'm getting changed."

Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Don't try and distract me," she muttered, staring down at the front yard below.

"Are you really skipping today?"

"Seems like it," Jade said, though she was already dressed, made up and in need of a way to spend her day. "Can I convince you to join me?"

"Sorry, babe," she said, wiggling into a pair of tight jeans. "I have two tests today. And I don't have your nerves of steel."

"Nerves of steel," Jade repeated. "Right."

"It's not too late to change your mind. I know Sikowitz was being a basket of dicks yesterday but I'm sure everyone's over it."

"No," said Jade, lifting herself off the ledge and letting the soles of her boots hit the roof. "No, it's fine. I'm just going to hang out and look for my songbook. You have fun at school, though."

"Alright," said Tori after a beat. "I'm going to text you to make sure you're staying out of trouble. Okay?"

Jade was glad Tori couldn't see her roll her eyes.

"Okay," she agreed.

They said their goodbyes and Jade slid her phone into her pocket, already trying to retrace her steps. When was the last time she had her songbook? The day before. Second period. She'd written something in it, a group of words that she thought belonged together. But after that, she couldn't remember. Had she had it at lunch?

With the way Thursday had gone, Jade wouldn't have been surprised if her songbook was gone forever. That would've fit right in. Broken phone, bruised ego and an entire book of songs gone forever.

She cursed, kicking a pebble across the length of the roof. Just her luck. Just her bad luck. She swore she had the worst luck in all of Hollywood. Sure, she was blessed with her health and her parents' money. But everything short of a pink, beating heart and a hefty bank account seemed to suck and suck hard.

She told herself to snap out of it. She took a deep breath, letting her lungs fill with clean air, and thought of a game-plan. She had to search. She had to search the house. She'd start with her room and clear the entire second floor. The band room, the guest room, the bathroom. Everywhere.

And she did just that. For at least two hours, she searched every inch of every room of the second level. But to no avail. So she stomped downstairs, diving into the first pile of papers she saw in the corner of the living room. And she was focused, completely lost inside her quest.

Until a cold, deep voice cut through her precision.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

Jade barely registered that she was being addressed, too caught up in digging through a pile of magazines to care.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" she fired back, not needing to look up to see her father's expression. He really only had the one, all steely and unimpressed. He had no time for anyone or anything, except, of course, for Sofia, their maid.

Suddenly, it was clear why her father was home at nine AM on a weekday. It was Friday, after all. And Sophia came on Fridays. When Jade heard footsteps on the stairs, she was sure it was Sophia, just coming from 'cleaning' the master bedroom.

In her father's presence, Jade, too had only one expression – disgusted.

"Why aren't you in school?" he asked harshly.

She still refused to turn around. The hunt for her songbook was significantly more important than whatever Roger West had to say.

"Why aren't you at work?" she asked just as coldly, her voice thick with contempt.

"I have a late business meeting," he said, though his tone suggested that she shouldn't have even been asking. "I'm leaving now. Be home by seven. We're having the Fishers over for dinner." There was a pause. "And try to stay out of prison."

Jade's blue eyes rolled.

"Try to stay away from maids."

She didn't care about how her father would react to her words. Her mind was occupied, currently with obscenities. Fuckin' A. Her songbook wasn't anywhere in her house, was it? She didn't spend much time downstairs and there wasn't a chance she'd lost it on the first floor. If it wasn't upstairs, it wasn't at the house.

Shit.

This wasn't good.

That songbook was not something that could be replaced. Having grown up with money, Jade had developed a very low value and appreciation for material things. A new iPod? She could buy a better on. She could buy ten of them. A grand piano for the living room? Yawn. There was a keyboard in her bedroom and a baby grand in the band room.

But those songs hadn't been purchased.

They didn't come with a receipt.

And if she _had_ lost them, no amount of money could bring them back.

Jade fell backwards, her butt on the ground and her back against the couch. The sloppy position was wrinkling her skirt but she didn't care.

What if she really had lost it?

She'd been scribbling in that thing for almost two years. In it were songs about_ everything – _her parents, her friends, her nightmares, Tori. God, there were a lot of songs in there about Vega. Songs about hating her. Songs about lusting after her. And, most recently, songs about loving her.

They weren't all gems. Jade was a good songwriter but, like all artists, she had her off days. Some of the lyrics she'd written were bad. Some were okay. A lot were pretty good. And a few were really great.

Those were the ones she was afraid to lose.

Oh, screw it all. Who was she kidding? She didn't want to lose _any_ of them. Even the bad ones. Even the ones that sucked. They still came from her. They were still a part of _her_.

Therapy hadn't worked out and songwriting had been just about the only healthy way Jade knew how to express herself. Losing that book meant losing a lot of progress. And a loss that big would no doubt kick Jade right back into the deep, dark place that she'd resided before… well, before Tori Vega came along.

Actually she'd written a song about just that…

Oh, for fuck's sake!

Her hand was on her forehead in exasperation. What the hell was she doing?

Using the coffee table for support, Jade pulled herself onto her feet, dusted off her skirt and put her game face on. Jade West did not sit around and sulk. No, sir. No way. That was not her style. She went out and got things done. If she wanted that songbook back, she was going to go get it.

It wasn't in her house. That was for sure. And Tori said that she didn't have it.

That left just one place. Songbooks didn't just get up and walk away. It was at school. It was on the Hollywood Arts campus. Somewhere.

On one hand, that could be a good thing. Just about every student there feared her. Her name was on the inside cover. No one in their right mind would screw with it if they knew it was hers.

At the same time, though, anyone with half a brain could read through her songs and see that she wasn't half as stone-cold and scary as she let on. And _that_ discovery could be deadly. Seriously, it was social suicide. If they stopped fearing her, they'd stop respecting her. Even worse, they'd start to like her. They'd relate to her, think she was one of them.

Lord, instead of cowering in fear, they might actually try to talk to her and be her friend.

Okay. She needed to find that notebook and soon.

There wasn't much she could do until Monday, though. As easy as it was to sneak _off_ campus, it was hard to sneak on. She just had to make it until Monday.

Just three days.

She could do that standing on her head.

No problem.

In the meantime, she'd bide her time. She'd hang out with Tori. Or maybe she'd go the other route and make someone miserable. Maybe someone blonde with a Russian accent and a stupid maid's uniform…

Tori couldn't help but worry.

She _should_ have been listening to the ridiculous story Cat was telling about her brother but she wasn't. Instead, she was staring at her phone. Jade didn't do well unsupervised. She wasn't the type that should have ever been left alone with her thoughts.

But she had been. For several hours now. And the fact that she hadn't answered any of Tori's texts worried her even more.

What the hell was she up to anyway?

"Yo, Tori," said Beck, the boy's kind voice slicing through her thoughts like a knife through butter. "Pass the ketchup."

Nodding absently, she did.

"What's up with you, girl?" Andre asked, giving her a light nudge.

Shit. Jade was right. She had no poker face.

"Nothing," she said. "I'm just tired. Trina kept me up all night rehearsing for some new musical."

As the table groaned in sympathy, Tori was glad her sister had decided to sit somewhere else. It made her lying a lot easier.

"Where's Jade today?" Robbie asked after a few moments of chatter.

"Yeah, where is the she-devil hiding out?" said Rex. All eyes fell on Cat. As far as the group knew, Cat was the closest person to Jade.

"I don't know," said the redhead. She checked her phone, her pink case leaving glitter on her tiny hands. "She hasn't answered any of my texts."

"You think it has anything to do with her blowing up at Sikowitz yesterday?" Andre asked between chews.

"That was brutal," said Beck.

"The hippie deserved it," argued Rex. "Jade should've used her fangs to bite him."

"He was kind of harsh," Tori said when she realized she hadn't spoken "He didn't have to be rude about it."

"She probably didn't have to call him a basket-of-dicks though," Beck said with a smirk.

Andre rolled his eyes.

"Girl needs to learn to take criticism."

"There's a difference between criticism and malice," Tori pointed out, her eyes on her salad. "Besides, we've all been on the receiving end of a tough review. It sucks."

"It does suck," Cat agreed lightly. Cat. Always the peacemaker. Always agreeable.

"Well, I hope she's back on Monday," said Andre, sitting up straighter. "She's supposed to help me with the arrangement for the spring concert."

"She'll be back," Tori said a little too surely. She cleared her throat, certain her friends had picked up on it. "Let's talk about something else."

Though there was a beat because no one knew why Tori cared so much about the girl she hated, Beck took the bait.

"So, who's going to the Writer's Wharf next weekend?"

"I am," said Andre.

"Me too," said Tori.

"Rex and I will be there," Robbie confirmed.

"Wait," said Cat. "What's the Writer's Wharf?"

"It's an open-mic night they have at this cool club called The Den," Beck explained. "You sign up and get to sing two original songs."

"How's that different from any other open-mic?"

"Because it's for real musicians and songwriters," Andre interjected excitedly. The boy lived and breathed music. "No random dudes singing Katy Perry."

"Right," said Beck. "No covers. No posers. Just songwriters."

"It's really cool," said Tori. "The crowd actually stays quiet and pays attention. It's intense."

"And the food is off the hook," said Rex.

"Do you think Jade would want to go?" Cat asked, her eyes lighting up. Had Tori not known better, she, too, would have thought that Cat Valentine was the closest person to Jade. Even when Jade was vicious (and that was pretty often), Cat stuck up for her. She stood by her side, laughed at her jokes, complimented her clothes and her music. No matter how mean Jade was to her, Cat never got mad. She just laughed.

She loved Jade almost as much as Tori did.

Almost.

"You should ask her," Tori said, though the words tasted like vinegar. _She_ wanted to be the one to convince Jade to go to the Writer's Wharf. But she had to keep up the idea that she and Jade were frenemies at best. So she'd have to let Cat have it.

"Great idea, Tori!" Cat giggled. She picked up her phone and began to text away, smiling and humming as she crafted the message.

Good luck, thought Tori. Maybe Jade would answer Cat's texts. She sure as hell wasn't answering hers.

When the bell rang, the group scattered to different corners of the school. Beck had chemistry. Cat had costume design. Andre had gym. Robbie had some sort of computer class. Tori was on her way to multicultural literature when her phone rang.

"Where the hell have you been all day?" she asked, making a sharp left and heading into the girls bathroom. "I was sure you died."

"Didn't die," Jade reported. "Alive and safe. I was looking for my songbook."

"And?" Tori prompted hopefully.

"No dice," sighed Jade.

"Shit," said Tori. "Babe, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Jade, shaking her head. "I'll find it." She took a drag on her cigarette, hoping Tori couldn't hear. "Hey. Come over later? My parents are having people over for dinner and I'm going to need a boost to get me through it."

Tori smiled.

"Of course," she said. After a pause, Tori bit the corner of her lip and smiled some more. "Jade?"

"Mhm?"

"Have you heard of this thing called the Writer's Wharf?"


End file.
